Faded Flowers
by ficwriter4
Summary: It made her happy to know that her and Lucas were always going to be the only ones to ever notice that that one flower was different than the rest.


**So I know I now have two other stories to update, but after that amazing episode last night, I wanted to do a short one-shot where Leyton ends happily. Call me a sucker for happy endings, but if we don't get one on the show I don't know where I'm going to be…. I guess on fanfiction, reading a lot of great stories. Hahaha.**

**This is loosely based upon an amazing Fray song that I recently fell upon, it's called "Be The One" and for some reason it's not on any cd… which is a disappointment. But you should look it up.**

**This takes place the summer between 2****nd**** and 3****rd**** season. Hope you enjoy, and if you remember – please review!**

_They're two lovers in the night_

_Waiting on the sun to rise_

_Passing ships into the night_

_Under different skies_

It was the kind of night that kids pulled out their dusty tents from a basement corner to set up in the back yard. It was the type of night that created a distinctly bright light throughout the darkness of the midnight sky. It was a night where thousands of stars brought a light to the black that drifted through a small southern town.

Her green eyes took their time on each of the small bright dots that they fell on as they moved through the sky, making sure to inspect the unique quality each held. Most people would say there was no difference between one star and another, yet Peyton always had a knack for noticing the small differences in small things.

She could tell that the while the labels said they were the same brand, the chocolate ice cream she bought from the store and the one served in the school cafeteria had two completely different tastes. She could tell that the caretakers at the cemetery trimmed the grass more carefully in the spring than the fall. And she could tell that one of the daisy's, which had bloomed in the spot right next to her, was slightly more faded than the others, though they had bloomed at the same exact time.

_But you just whisper what you said _

_One last time _

_I could have sworn I heard you say _

_That you are mine_

She lay in only a tank top and shorts, sprawled across the damp grass in her backyard. A soft distant light spread around her from the porch light of her brick house. The humid air fell across her skin, which was slick with summer sweat. Her lips curled into a small smile as the chirping of the cicadas entered her ears; she had always loved that sound which was so directly tied to the season of summer.

Peyton heard the slamming of her porch door and the quiet footsteps, which had settled themselves next to her. She knew it was him before she even looked up. It wasn't hard to predict though, since summer had started, they had spent almost every available hour together. He took his place next to her, without saying a word and began getting lost in the valley of stars above them, a comfortable quiet settled between them; they had never needed words to occupy the time they spent together.

_Faded flowers in your hand _

_The best that I could do _

_It's the only way i've had _

_Of reaching you_

"How ya doing?" Her words broke the silence, and his heart tugged at the concern etched in her voice. It was just like her to be thinking of him when she had been going through so much shit the past month and a half.

"I'm good." She snickered disbelievingly at his words; "I am!" he spoke again.

Her head turned and she met his blue eyes, "Lucas, you're a momma's boy. And your momma just left for Italy for a month. I know you're not 'good'." He smiled at the teasing that had filled her green eyes.

He turned his eyes back to the sky and crossed his arms, "You're right. I'll miss her. But on the other hand, my mom just left for a month. You know what that means?" Her brows rose as he looked back at her and spoke confidently, "I've got the house free of a parent watching over me… I could throw a party or something."

A loud laugh escaped her mouth and she couldn't stop, "Luke…"

"What is so funny with that? I'm 17 and have a house to myself… it makes sense" He asked, annoyed at how amused she was at his idea.

"Well its not like you are exactly an average 17 year old."

"I don't even know what that's supposed to mean." He tried to mock hurt, but couldn't help but smile as he saw how happy she looked, "I'll have you know that last time my mom was out of the country, I got drunk at a bar_ and_ got a tattoo. That's pretty average 17-year old behavior if I do say so myself."

She rolled her eyes, "That's only because you were under the influence of Brooke Davis. It's not like she's exactly around to corrupt you this time." At the mention of her name, his smile dropped, and her eyes looked away.

_I never saw it like you did _

_Didn't know that it was there _

_You don't see it in your hand _

_Until the end_

It wasn't that they didn't talk about Brooke; she would tell little stories of what Brooke relayed to her about her summer in California on occasion. It was just that it wasn't exactly the most comfortable topic among the pair. Neither knew why it was so awkward. Or rather, they both knew but were too afraid to think about what that meant.

Lucas cleared his throat and began to speak, wanting to clear the tension, "So this must mean that you're not exactly the most average 17-year old either, Peyton."

"And what does that mean?" She asked, relieved they had moved past the previous moment.

"Well I think it's pretty obvious. I mean, you've had a house to yourself for years, and what's the craziest thing you've ever done? Hmmm? Painted your room?" He smiled at his reference to the multiple projects on her room she had guilt-tripped him into helping her with over the past few weeks, but it faltered when her smile dropped and she looked away.

He reached out and put a concerned hand on her bare arm, "Peyton?"

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes; she had wanted to avoid this moment. Lucas was probably the last person she wanted to share her dark secret with. She didn't want to speak and ruin the light-hearted banter that was going between the two but she couldn't really stop as the words came out.

"This past semester… I… I did cocaine." The words barely left as a breath from her lips, but he heard them loud and clear.

"W...what?" his hand gripped her arm tighter, and he wished for her eyes to meet his so he could see what was going through her mind, but she continued to look up at the stars.

"It was only a couple times, I swear. I only tried it because I felt so alone…" Tears rolled down her face as her voice broke, "I don't really know why I did it, I guess because for a moment it seemed like I could forget everything that had happened… with my mom, my dad, Jake. It was like a break from it all." Her face finally turned and their eyes met, "I'm sorry." She whispered.

He shook his head and wiped the tears that were falling down her broken face, his hand stopping to cup her check, "Peyton…"

_Be the one and only, wait for me _

_Will you be the only one _

_Will you be, be the one and only _

_Wait for me, will you be the only one_

His hand felt warm and safe and she moved into his touch as she spoke, "But it was you that saved me, Luke."

Her eyes opened and met his confused orbs, "I was about to break, but you came to me concerned. And you called Jake for me, so I didn't do it again because it felt like something had actually gone right for once. Because of you."

His heart began to beat faster as he heard the sincerity in her voice and saw something in her eyes that he was sure she could see in his own, but she slowly moved out of his touch and rolled onto her back once again.

Peyton's eyes drifted onto the largest star she could find and she couldn't help but notice how it seemed to be shining right atop of them, and it felt right, it felt as though someone was watching over them. She smiled as his hand enveloped hers and their fingers intertwined, fitting perfectly.

"I wish I could have been the one to help you, Peyt." His voice was quiet, but full of meaning.

She shook her head in disbelief at his innocence of how much he didn't realize, "Lucas, you really have no idea, do you?" He looked on confused, "It might have been Jake to come back and stop me from making another mistake, but it was you who picked up that phone. Even when you might not be the one who is standing next to me, it is always you who is in the back of my head, pushing me to be better."

His thumb traced over the small scar he had noticed a few weeks ago when she was telling him how she had fallen off the monkey bars at 6 years old, and cut her thumb deep. The blood had scared her, because she had never seen that much, but she felt calmer when her mom cut one of the daisy's from their yard and put it next to her bed.

It was then when he saw the flower patch that surrounded them and softly mumbled, "Daisy's."

_What if I knew how to yell _

_What would I pray _

_What if I knew how to tell _

_What would I say_

Peyton smiled because she knew he was remembering her story and she nodded as she turned to look at the one she had noticed earlier.

"That one's a little faded." Her head turned quickly to Lucas who had just spoken.

"What?"

He tilted his chin to the flower, "That daisy, it's a little more faded than the other ones." He spoke simply, as though it was such an obvious fact and she couldn't explain why she was so excited that he would notice the same exact detail as she did. It made her happy to know that her and Lucas were always going to be the only ones to ever notice that that one flower was different than the rest.

"Yea… I know. I saw that earlier." His fingers reached out and softly moved her face to look at him.

"It kind of reminds me of you." Her brows closed in questioning and he spoke so soft that if she wasn't looking at the movements of his mouth, she might not have heard him, "It's a little different than the rest of the batch, and it's a little sad, but when you really look at it, it's the one that stands out from all the other flowers which makes it the most beautiful."

Her eyes teared up and she opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words, creating a long silence between the two.

Luke let out a soft laugh and turned up towards the sky once again, he shook his head and sighed as his hands pulled away from hers.

"Lucas..."

"Forget it, Peyton." The words could have been harsh, but when he spoke they came out almost ashamed.

She sat up on her arm and leaned towards his body, setting her hand on his face, but he moved away from her touch, "Don't do that Lucas; don't pull away from me."

He sighed and looked toward her worried eyes, "Why were so alone, Peyton? Why couldn't you come to _me_?"

Her eyes cast down, "I… I don't know. I guess with everything that happened between us, I figured that you wouldn't really want to be that guy for me anymore…"

"Peyton." His voice argued, but she didn't stop talking,

"And you were busy with basketball and Brooke." Her eyes met his, ashamed, "I guess I didn't think you were mine to go to anymore."

_I will be the only one _

_If you say you'll never go _

_I'll be screaming out your name _

_From the back of ohhhh_

He sat up quickly and pulled her body into his arms. Her head immediately found the crook in his neck that she fit into so perfectly. His breathing was warm against her ear and he whispered quietly, "I am yours."

Lips pressed against her check and breathing increased, as they slowly pulled apart and pressed their foreheads together. Both ached to speak; both ached to kiss.

Lucas moved his lips and pressed them softly against hers.

It was chaste and innocent, but when he felt her hand move to the back of his neck and pull his head closer, it became much more than just chaste. It became passionate, it became lustful, it became love.

They separated, and she set her forehead atop his shoulder as they tried to catch their breath.

"What was that, Luke?" She asked, pulling back and meeting his eyes. He smiled and ran his index finger along the line of her face.

"Something that we should have never stopped doing." She let out an airy laugh that he loved.

_Be the one and only, wait for me _

_Will you be the only one _

_Will you be, be the one and only _

_Wait for me; let me be your only one_

He pressed his lips against hers again, for a moment, and thought about how stupid he had been. He had been running from her, in the same way that she had in that first room where they began to show each other how they felt towards one another. He hadn't wanted to admit how much he missed her, afraid of what that might have meant for him, for her and for Brooke.

She couldn't help but let another smile spread across her face as they separated. She closed her eyes and let herself take in what was happening. It was something that she had wanted to happen since she walked away from him that night as he sat on her porch. Lucas was connected to her in a way that no one else was, and she didn't want to hide how she felt anymore.

As he stood and offered her his hand, she glanced up to the sky and noticed that the stars seemed to be even brighter as she placed her hand in his and moved to stand along his side. He wrapped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

There were questions to be asked, talks to have and answers to be given. And they would get to it all, but time didn't matter because at that moment, the daisy didn't seem to be as faded.

At that moment, they were just Lucas and Peyton.

They were forever.

_Be the one, be the one and only _

_Wait for me; let me be your only one _

_Will you be, be the one and only _

_Wait for me; let me be your only one_


End file.
